Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting.

The Metro Mayor Dan Norris welcomed everybody to the meeting and those present introduced themselves.

To receive apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies for absence had been received from Mayor Marvin Rees (Bristol City Council).  Cllr Kye Dudd attended as substitute.

Apologies for absence had also been received from Cllr Kevin Guy (Bath & North East Somerset Council).  Cllr Sarah Warren attended as substitute.

Members who consider that they have an interest to declare are asked to state:

a) The item number in which they have an interest;

b) The nature of the interest, and;

c) Whether the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, non-disclosable pecuniary interest or non-pecuniary interest.

Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

There were no declarations of interest declared under the Localism Act 2011.

To consider and approve the minutes of the West of England Combined Authority Committee meeting held on 17 March 2023.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any announcements from the Chair of the West of England Combined Authority Committee.

There were no Chair’s announcements.

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS

1. Any member of the public can submit a maximum of two written questions in advance of this meeting.

2. The deadline for the submission of questions is 5.00pm, at least 3 clear working days ahead of a meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for questions is 5.00pm on Monday 12 June 2023.

3. Questions should be addressed to the Chair of the meeting and e-mailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk.

4. Under the direction of the Chair, wherever possible, written replies to questions will be sent to questioners by the end of the working day prior to the meeting.

5. Please note - under the Combined Authority’s committee procedures, there is no opportunity for oral supplementary questions to be asked at committee meetings.

6. The written questions and replies will be circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

PUBLIC STATEMENTS

1. Any member of the public may submit a written statement (or petition) to this meeting.

2. Please note that one statement per individual is permitted.

3. Statements must be submitted in writing and received by the deadline of 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for statements is 12 noon on Thursday 15 June 2023. Statements should be emailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk.

4. Statements will be listed for the meeting in the order of receipt. All statements will be sent to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

5. Please note: If any member of the public wishes to attend the meeting to orally present their statement, they are asked please to notify the Combined Authority’s Democratic Services team of this at the point when their statement is submitted and by 12noon on the working day before the meeting at the very latest.

6. For those presenting their statements at the meeting, up to 3 minutes ‘speaking time’ is permitted for each statement. The total time available for the public session at this meeting is 30 minutes.

There had been 47 questions received from 32 individuals.  The responses to these questions had been circulated to Members of the Committee and published on the Authority’s website.

In addition 47 statements had been received.  These had been circulated and published on the Authority’s website.  Members of the public who submitted statements were given the opportunity to address the Committee for up to three minutes each on the topic of their statements.  The Members of the Public who addressed the Committee are listed below.

[NB - Subsequent to the meeting it was discovered that two additional statements had been submitted prior to the deadline but had been diverted to the Authority’s junk mail.  These statements were published in a supplementary document with the other meeting papers on the Authority’s website].

·       Steve Reade;

·       Roberta Oliver;

·       Maria Carvalho;

·       Dave Redgewell;

·       Gordon Richardson (on behalf of Brendan Taylor);

·       Christina Biggs;

·       Robbie Bentley;

·       Jackie Head.

To receive comments from the Chair (or the Chair’s representative) of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board.

The Chair of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board, Richard Bonner, was invited to address the meeting.  He made the following comments in relation to the items to be considered:

Since we last met, I wanted to report on the recent attendance of the West of England at the UKREiiF in Leeds to promote the region, and pleasing that we collaborated with  a wide delegation of partners from across the Western Gateway. 

I particularly wanted to thank colleagues in IBB for their support and organisation, and I was pleased with the level of interest from a broad range of stakeholders, investors and potential partners.  I also wanted to celebrate the visible Temple Quarter partnership with a very well received event with representatives of WoE CA, BCC, Network Rail and Homes England. A great showcase.

Investment Programme:

§  We support the recommendation in the Investment Fund report to allocate £1.5m towards a Place Partnership bid to Arts Council England for a £3m programme to deliver the priorities set out in the West of England Cultural Plan which has been overseen by the Cultural Compact chaired by LEP Board member Sue Rigby. The funding will enable us to support our hugely important cultural and creative sector, including projects focussed on supporting creative freelancers to grow and thrive, and working with schools, college and other training providers to increase pathways into the sector.

§  The Western Harbour area of Bristol presents a great regeneration opportunity, which could see the delivery of up to 2,500 new homes, but also presents a set of challenges, not least life expired transport infrastructure. I am pleased to see the proposal for further funding to better understand how this area can come forward through a masterplan and technical studies.

Delivery Assurance:

§  We note there are a number of schemes in the funding programmes that report delay. I welcome the actions put in place over the last year to seek to address challenges with delivery, but it appears there is still more to do. In this regard I welcome the combination of the line-by-line budget review and the project health check process, both of which should support improvement.

Transport Schemes:

§  We welcome the additional funding that has been secured for the region which will enable further investment in our transport infrastructure and assist in encouraging a greater number of journeys being made by walking and cycling and for those trips that have to be made by car being able to transition to electric. All of which are vital in addressing our climate emergency.

§  Transport is an important issue for the LEP and business more broadly and updating the vision led Joint Local Transport Plan (JLTP) will be vital in ensuring that our transport infrastructure supports and encourages growth and that our region meets its full economic potential

§  The LEP board would like to be involved in the refresh of the JLTP and support the development where possible of other key projects for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Authority’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee met informally on 12 June 2023 to consider the items being brought to this Committee.  They chose one member to represent their views at this meeting.  That Member to pass on any comments from that meeting on the items of business.

The Authority’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee had met informally on 12 June 2023 to discuss the Committee papers.  They had nominated one member to communicate their comments to the West of England Combined Authority Committee. Cllr Alison Streatfeild-James attended the meeting to report the comments as set out below:

“The Scrutiny Committee welcomes the work on the Transformation programme, and wishes to thank officers for the good progress made improving governance and relationships between officers across the Unitary Authorities and Combined Authority. We look forward to further progress on the action plan and playing our part in supporting or challenging this work, including improving the way that our own Scrutiny Committee works.

We note that the two key statutory recommendations from the auditors are about culture and working relationships. Accordingly, we would like to send a strong message to the Mayors and Leaders to ensure their relationships, and ways of working, build on the action plans and realise the benefits of the positive work already achieved. We hope that the newly formed committee will be an opportunity to achieve this, avoid further reputational damage and the potentially very serious consequences of failing to improve.

Regarding programme delivery: We note the delegations already in place for The Bus Service Improvement Plan, and therefore no BSIP spend proposals are coming forward within the investment fund report. The Committee would, however, like to ensure there is a transparent process for deciding how to invest the BSIP funding, especially given the recently announced flexibility in the rules on what it can be used for. We further hope that any proposals for investing this budget are, and can be shown to be, evidence based.”

To update on the overall programme and headroom.

1.             That the allocation of £1.5m to support the Place Partnership funding bid to Arts Council England as set out in paragraph 2.7-2.9 be approved;

2.             That the award of £200k of funding to support the Investment Fund Gateway 2 process as set out in paragraph 2.10-2.13 be approved;

3.             That the Strategic Outline Case for Western Harbour and the award of £2.56m to produce a masterplan concept report and highway alignment feasibility assessment report by March 2025, as set out in paragraph 2.14 be approved;

4.             That the Feasibility and Development Funding Application for the Muller Road Eastbound Bus Lane and the award of £388k to produce a Full Business Case by February 2024, as set out in paragraph 2.15 be approved;

5.             That the Outline Business Case for the Keynsham to Willsbridge Path and the award of £455k to produce a Full Business Case by March 2025, as set out in paragraph 2.17 be approved;

The Metro Mayor introduced a report that gave an update on the overall Investment Fund programme and headroom.  The report also sought approval for a number of new awards and allocations from the Investment Fund.

It was noted that full spend of the time-limited Transforming Cities Fund had been achieved by the deadline of March 2023, and that the full £80 million had been used on new transport schemes, ensuring no funding was at risk of having to be returned to Government.

It was also reported that the Authority had been specifically invited by Arts Council England to bid into their Place Partnership Fund to take forward the key priorities as set out in the Authority’s Cultural Plan, which had launched last year.

This report requested a £1.5m contribution from the Combined Authority (leveraging a further £1.5m) which would enable the Authority to support the cultural and creative freelance community and improve access to the many jobs and training opportunities that the sector provided across the region.

Cllr Warren specifically welcomed the allocation to support the preparation of the Joint Local Transport Plan 5.

Cllr Young welcomed the opportunity to secure additional funding from the Arts Council and championed the creative talent across the region and stated that by working in partnership this would give an opportunity for more professionally-led art and culture across age and community groups.  Cllr Young also specifically welcomed the funding for the Keynsham to Willsbridge Path and Western Harbour initiatives but noted the impact on the remaining headroom and asked that this be given consideration moving forward.

Cllr Dudd welcomed the report and highlighted the Western Harbour development plan which would provide sustainable living in the heart of the city.  He believed that the project would help keep the principle of the long-term planning for this region.  He also noted the importance of the Muller Road Eastbound Bus Lane which would help alleviate congestion and improve bus punctuality in this area.  The Old City project would help the cycling and pedestrian experience as well as helping to boost the hospitality sector and nighttime economy.

[voting arrangements: Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Metro Mayor].

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris, seconded by Cllr Kye Dudd and unanimously:

Resolved:

1.             That the allocation of £1.5m to support the Place Partnership funding bid to Arts Council England as set out in paragraph 2.7-2.9 be approved;

2.             That the award of £200k of funding to support the Investment Fund Gateway 2 process as set out in paragraph 2.10-2.13 be approved;

3.             That the Strategic Outline Case for Western Harbour and the award of £2.56m to produce a masterplan concept report and highway alignment feasibility assessment report by March 2025, as set out in paragraph 2.14 be approved;

4.             That the Feasibility and Development Funding Application for the Muller Road Eastbound Bus Lane and the award  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider changes to schemes within the Investment Fund programme against the agreed delivery assurance principles.

That the change requests for schemes within the current programme as set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

The Metro Mayor introduced a report which sought the approval of changes to schemes in the current programme which had been recommended to Committee by the Programme Review Board.

It also included new measures to help improve delivery, including a thorough budget review of spend and the realism of forecasts for all programmes, and a health check process currently being rolled out for capital projects.

Cllr Dudd asked for a slight inaccuracy in the report to be noted in paragraph 4.1 [page51] which read:

“Portway Station – additional £450k Investment Fund (IF) to meet the

operational costs (change request requires sign off from BCC)”

He reported that this had been signed off by Bristol City Council so no further approvals were required and asked that this reference be removed.

Cllr Warren confirmed that changes had been signed off by groups of directors from the Unitary Authorities and project delays had been resolved.

[voting arrangements: Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Metro Mayor].

The recommendation was moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris, seconded by Cllr Claire Young and unanimously

Resolved:

That the change requests for schemes within the current programme as set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

To provide an update to West of England Combined Authority Committee on key transport schemes and to secure approval from Committee on key decisions and associated funding (where applicable) related to projects within the West of England Combined Authority’s Transport Infrastructure programme.

1           That the award of £7.775m to fund enhanced rail services on the Severn Beach and Westbury lines for 3 years, drawing down the £4m allocated for programme risk at the March 2023 Committee and £3.775m of additional revenue funding from Investment Fund, as set out in paragraphs 2.1.1 to 2.1.14 of the report be approved;

2           That delegated authority to the West of England Combined Authority Strategic Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Unitary Authority Infrastructure Directors to spend the £123k of LEVI capability funding that has been secured and any future capability and capital funding secured through LEVI where there is urgency, subject to successful bids, as outlined in paragraphs 2.2.1 to 2.2.4 of the report be approved;

3           That delegated authority to the West of England Combined Authority Strategic Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Unitary Authority Infrastructure Directors to spend the £3.6m of Active Travel Fund that has been secured through the tranche 4 bidding process for schemes as outlined in paragraphs 2.3.1 to 2.3.10 of the report be approved;

4           That funding of £1.25m to review and update the Joint Local Transport Plan and transport major scheme programme following the publication of guidance from the Department for Transport, as outlined in paragraphs 2.4.1 to 2.4.5 of the report be approved;

5           That the extension to the Outline Business Case submission date to March 2024 and associated funding of £471k, as outlined in paragraphs 2.5.1 to 2.5.7 of the report be approved;

6           That delegated authority for approval of business cases and subsequent spend and delivery of cycling and walking schemes of £6m and below to the West of England Combined Authority Strategic Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Unitary Authority Directors of Infrastructure, where there is headroom within a programme and no material impact on other schemes. In the absence of unanimous agreement the delegation reverts to the West of England Combined Authority Chief Executive in consultation with the Unitary Authority CEOs, as set out in paragraphs 2.6.1 to 2.6.7 of the report be agreed;

7           That the approval of a Feasibility and Development Funding Application(s) for up to £15.1m for the activities to be undertaken through the City Regions Sustainable Travel Settlement top slice to the West of England Combined Authority Strategic Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Unitary Authority Directors of Infrastructure, as outlined in paragraph 2.7.1 of the report be approved.

The Metro Mayor introduced a report which provided an update to the West of England Combined Authority Committee on key transport schemes and which would secure approval from Committee on key decisions and associated funding (where applicable) related to a number of projects within the West of England Combined Authority’s Transport Infrastructure programme.

Cllr Warren welcomed the improvements to MetroWest on the rail which were already showing improvements in Keysham and looked forward to a next stage with a new station at Saltford to bring further improvements.  She further specifically welcomed the EV Infrastructure Charging and Active Travel initiatives to boost funding and walking.

Cllr Young welcomed the opportunity to enhance rail services from Severn Beach to Yate, Electric Vehicle Charging Points and the M32 sustainable transport corridor but queried the extension of the Outline Business Case (OBC) submission date.  She asked that there be regular engagement of appropriate leaders and transport members in overseeing this project.  This was confirmed by the Authority’s Interim Chief Executive.

Cllr Dudd welcomed the funding for EV Charging points which was an important initiative in meeting the region’s net zero targets but reiterated that any monies were spent in an equitable way, not just in residential areas.  He stated he would like to see a focus on ‘rapid charge hubs’ which were needed as well as on street charging points. Cllr Dudd said that there was an opportunity for maximising the partnership work with Bristol City Leap.  He welcomed the progress on the M32 Park & Ride solution.  He believed that the delivery of projects contained in the LCWIP would help towards the decarbonisation of transport in the region.

[voting arrangements: Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Metro Mayor].

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris, seconded by Cllr Sarah Warren and unanimously:

Resolved:

1           That the award of £7.775m to fund enhanced rail services on the Severn Beach and Westbury lines for 3 years, drawing down the £4m allocated for programme risk at the March 2023 Committee and £3.775m of additional revenue funding from Investment Fund, as set out in paragraphs 2.1.1 to 2.1.14 of the report be approved;

2           That delegated authority to the West of England Combined Authority Strategic Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Unitary Authority Infrastructure Directors to spend the £123k of LEVI capability funding that has been secured and any future capability and capital funding secured through LEVI where there is urgency, subject to successful bids, as outlined in paragraphs 2.2.1 to 2.2.4 of the report be approved;

3           That delegated authority to the West of England Combined Authority Strategic Director of Infrastructure in consultation with the Unitary Authority Infrastructure Directors to spend the £3.6m of Active Travel Fund that has been secured through the tranche 4 bidding process for schemes as outlined in paragraphs 2.3.1 to 2.3.10 of the report be approved;

4           That funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

This report sets out progress and next steps on the West of England Combined Authority’s route to improvement. The report provides Committee with an update on the West of England Combined Authority transformation programme that is underway to respond to and take forward recommendations from the recent Grant Thornton external audit report, the West of England Combined Authority commissioned an Independent Peer Review and the West of England Combined Authority Committee approved the action plan.This report provides a more detailed update on the progress to deliver a revised regional strategy as part of the transformation programme.

1.    That the structure and actions of the West of England Combined Authority transformation programme be noted;

2.    That the progress towards the revised regional strategy, and any steers on issues that the Committee would like to be factored in as the work progresses, be taken into account;

3.    That it be noted that a further update on the transformation programme will be provided to the October Committee meeting.

The Metro Mayor introduced a paper on the Transformation Programme and Regional Strategy.

The Metro Mayor stated that when the Committee had last met in March 2023 Jim Taylor, an independent peer reviewer from the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) had addressed the meeting. He had been asked to come in and consider how the Authority strengthened its partnerships to ensure the Combined Authority could deliver for our residents.

The Committee had unanimously agreed to build on his recommendations, and those of the earlier Grant Thornton audit report into a transformation plan.

This report would take that work forward. The Metro Mayor stated that he welcomed the swift progress that had been made since March 2023, as recognised by the comments from the Overview and Scrutiny committee. He was also pleased to see the progress reported in the paper towards a refreshed regional strategy that our organisations were collaborating on.

The paper highlighted the steps that need to be taken to strengthen these partnership further, helping the Authority place even greater focus on delivery.

The paper asked the committee to consider and note progress and next steps. There was no vote required on this paper.

Cllr Warren stated that this was an opportunity to reset relationships with a newly collaborative approach around decision-making, especially in regards to bus services.  She looked forward to working with the Metro Mayor to solve the problems faced by the region together.

Cllr Dudd welcomed the progress being made in respect to the statutory recommendations but asked that no complacency crept in as there was still progress to be made.  Discussions needed to continue on the region’s priorities and continued dialogue would assist this process.

Cllr Young stated that she wished to be actively involved in decision-making for the benefit of residents, providing value for money and protecting vital services.  With BSIP funding changing it was vital all leaders worked to together to deliver maximum outcome.  She asked about the delegation to officers regarding the BSIP funding which allowed the announcement of the ‘birthday bus’ scheme without consultation of the partner authorities and stated that she would want better oversight going forward.  She asked how this funding had been employed against the BSIP objective.  She asked that future fares packages focussed on those most disadvantaged. She asked for a clear commitment on collective decision-making on BSIP funding to ensure that monies were allocated in the right way.

The Metro Mayor stated that he agreed that there needed to be a reset and welcomed the new spirit in the room.  He stated that the Birthday Bus scheme initiative had been worked on a very long time and was surprised that it had not been widely known.  He stated that bus companies had been working on this for more than a year.  Cllr Warren queried why it had not been previously discussed at the Authority’s Transport Board.  The Metro Mayor reiterated that officers needed to brief members on these initiatives.

The Metro Mayor called Cllr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To present for approval the refreshed West of England Employment and Skills Plan, and to consider progress and approve next steps in relation to the green construction and retrofit skills feasibility work supported by the Green Recovery Fund.

·       That the refreshed West of England Employment and Skills Plan as detailed in Appendix 1, be approved;

·       That the next steps on the green construction and retrofit skills feasibility work, as set out in paragraph 2.7, be approved;

The Metro Mayor introduced a report which presented the West of England Employment and Skills Plan for approval, and which asked the Committee to consider progress and approve the next steps, in relation to the green construction and retrofit skills feasibility work.

The Metro Mayor stated that Skills Connect, a single regional skills brokerage platform, would help a further 3,000 people every year to access training.The new Mayoral Priority Skills Fund would the Authority to respond more flexibly to skills challenges and opportunities as they arose, whether that was by helping bridge severe skills and labour shortages in certain sectors, or by equipping people with the green and digital skills they need for future jobs.

Cllr Young welcomed the refreshed plan and the proposals on the green construction skills pathways.  There was a significant need to train and upskill young people across the region including at SGS College.

Cllr Warren welcomed the initiative and wished to see further ambition in the future.

Cllr Dudd welcomed the report and stated that this would help deliver sustainable inclusive growth in the region and echoed many of the initiatives in Bristol’s One City Plan.  He thought that the messaging was often negative around climate change and this was a positive message. He did think that some young people were disengaged too early and that NEET (not in education, employment or training) figures were too high.

[voting arrangements: The decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Mayor]

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Cllr Claire Young.  It was unanimously

Resolved:

·       That the refreshed West of England Employment and Skills Plan as detailed in Appendix 1, be approved;

·       That the next steps on the green construction and retrofit skills feasibility work, as set out in paragraph 2.7, be approved;

This report represents the revenue and capital outturn to the West of England Combined Authority Committee for the financial year 2022/23 based on data from the period April 2022 to March 2023 for the West of England Combined Authority and Mayoral budgets. The final outturn position will be subject to audit verification of the annual accounts.

That the outturn position for the West of England Combined Authority Revenue Budget; The outturn position for the Mayoral Revenue budget; and The Capital Outturn as set out in Appendix 1 be noted.

The Metro Mayor introduced a report highlighting the revenue and capital outturn to the West of England Combined Authority Committee for the financial year 2022/23 based on data from the period April 2022 to March 2023 for the West of England Combined Authority and Mayoral budgets. The final outturn position would be subject to audit verification of the annual accounts.

The Metro Mayor reported a 39% increase in revenue grants for the financial year. He stated that there would be a continued emphasis and focus on delivery on the Authority’s capital programmes and projects going into the financial year 2023/24.

Cllr Young welcomed the summary of usable reserves in the report and asked that going forward details of how reserves were planned to be used over the coming year were set out.

Cllr Warren asked whether some of the extra monies that were being put into savings could be diverted to bus services.

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Cllr Kye Dudd.  There was no formal vote required as the recommendations were for noting.

The Committee noted the following:

That the outturn position for the West of England Combined Authority Revenue Budget; The outturn position for the Mayoral Revenue budget; and The Capital Outturn as set out in Appendix 1 be noted.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice requires the Authority to approve a Treasury Management Strategy before the start of each financial year, review performance during the year, and approve an annual report after the end of each financial year. This report provides a review of performance to 31 March 2023.

1.     That the Treasury Management Outturn Report to 31 March 2023, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice and the Treasury Management Indicators to 31 March 2023 be noted;

2.    That the allocation of £475k (25% of budget surplus) to the Treasury Management reserve, as set out in paragraph 2.16, be approved.

The Metro Mayor introduced a report which stated that the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice required the Authority to

·       approve a Treasury Management Strategy before the start of each financial year,

·       review performance during the year, and

·       approve an annual report after the end of each financial year.

The report provided a review of performance to 31 March 2023.

The original budget for 2022-23 investment income was £1.6m, and following the Authority’s successful treasury strategy and prudent investment decisions, the Authority had achieved an outturn position of £3.65m.  This surplus could be utilised in the support of the Authority’s priorities on delivering for the region.

[Voting Arrangements:

1          For noting purposes.

2          Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Metro Mayor]

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Cllr Kye Dudd.  It was unanimously

Resolved:

1.     That the Treasury Management Outturn Report to 31 March 2023, prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Code of Practice and the Treasury Management Indicators to 31 March 2023 be noted;

2.    That the allocation of £475k (25% of budget surplus) to the Treasury Management reserve, as set out in paragraph 2.16, be approved.

To request the Committee approves an update to the current West of England Combined Authority approval limits for purchase orders and contracts. The current limits are hindering our processing time for contract and purchase order approvals and negatively impacting internal processes for the procurement of goods and services. 

This request only applies to spend that have been previously approved by Committee or a delegated forum.  To note this paper does not include any requests for additional delegations or powers, it only applies to purchase order and contract approvals.  The current approval limits are stated in the West of England Combined Authority Constitution, and therefore the requested amendments need to be approved by Committee.

1.    That the West of England Combined Authority’s Constitution be updated with the revised approval limits as set out in Table A.

2.    That this decision be subject to the implementation of the Corporate Commercial Procurement Panel and a Corporate Commercial Procurement Board as listed in the Section 3.2 of this report. If any items that relate to novel, contentious or repercussive, or pose a potential high-risk, additional approvals and control measures be applied to these items. It is the responsibility of the Head of Service, Finance Business Partners, Senior Responsible Officers and Commercial Procurement team to provide assurance and review to all spend items.

3.    That the Authority’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee be requested to oversee the impact of these changes;

This report requested that the Committee approved an update to the current West of England Combined Authority approval limits for purchase orders and contracts.

The Metro Mayor stated that the current limits were hindering the Authority’s processing time for contract and purchase order approvals, and negatively impacting internal processes for the procurement of goods and services. 

This request only applied to spending that had been previously approved by Committee or a delegated forum. 

It was noted that this paper did not include any requests for additional delegations or powers and only applied to purchase order and contract approvals.  The current approval limits were  stated in the West of England Combined Authority Constitution, and therefore the requested amendments needed to be approved by Committee.

Cllr Young supported the recommendations but asked that the Authority’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee be requested to monitor the impact of these changes and would be writing to the Chair of the Authority’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee to request that.

[voting arrangements: The decision required unanimous agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Mayor].

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Cllr Kye Dudd.  An additional recommendation was agreed after being proposed by Cllr Claire Young. It was unanimously

Resolved:

1.     That the West of England Combined Authority’s Constitution be updated with the revised approval limits as set out in Table A.

2.     That this decision be subject to the implementation of the Corporate Commercial Procurement Panel and a Corporate Commercial Procurement Board as listed in the Section 3.2 of this report. If any items that relate to novel, contentious or repercussive, or pose a potential high-risk, additional approvals and control measures be applied to these items. It is the responsibility of the Head of Service, Finance Business Partners, Senior Responsible Officers and Commercial Procurement team to provide assurance and review to all spend items.

3.     That the Authority’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee be requested to oversee the impact of these changes;

To set out the indicative items of business for the West of England Combined Authority committee currently identified for the 2023/24 municipal year. (Appendix 1) and to endorse the publication of the Forward Plan during the year, extending the time horizon as appropriate and as new items are identified.

That the regular updating and publication of the Forward Plan on the West of England Combined Authority website be endorsed.

The Metro Mayor introduced a report setting out the indicative items of business for the West of England Combined Authority Committee currently identified for the 2023/24 municipal year (as set out in Appendix 1) and to endorse the publication of the Forward Plan during the year, extending the time horizon as appropriate and as new items were identified.

Cllr Warren stated that she was pleased to see the long term forward plan and looked forward to regular updates throughout the year.

[voting arrangements: Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Metro Mayor].

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Cllr Sarah Warren.  It was unanimously

Resolved:

That the regular updating and publication of the Forward Plan on the West of England Combined Authority website be endorsed.

To seek the Committee’s formal ratification of the West of England Combined Authority’s Interim Director of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer).

1.     That the appointment of Daniel Dickinson as Interim Director of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) be ratified;

2.     That the appointment of Tom Clark as the Combined Authority’s interim Monitoring Officer for a one-week period (17th June 2023 until 23rd June 2023 inclusive) be ratified.

The Metro Mayor introduced a report seeking the Committee’s formal ratification of Daniel Dickinson becoming the West of England Combined Authority’s Interim Director of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer), with a one-week period where Tom Clark would hold the Monitoring Officer responsibility. He wished the outgoing Monitoring Officer, Stephen Gerrard, all the best in his new endeavours.

[voting arrangements: Decision required majority agreement of Committee Members in attendance, or their substitutes (one vote representing each Authority) and including the West of England Combined Authority Metro Mayor].

The recommendations were moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and seconded by Cllr Sarah Warren.

It was unanimously

Resolved:

1.     That the appointment of Daniel Dickinson as Interim Director of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) be ratified;

2.     That the appointment of Tom Clark as the Combined Authority’s interim Monitoring Officer for a one-week period (17th June 2023 until 23rd June 2023 inclusive) be ratified.